Ghosts
by The Cat's Paw
Summary: After taking on a low C-rank mission while one man down, Team Minato returns to Konoha, only to discover that they've somehow ended up in the future. Oh, and apparently no one can see, hear, or feel them. Time travel.
1. Chapter 1

**So… New story. :P This was something that I just started writing one day, and every now and then I'd pop back to it and add a few more sentences, or a paragraph here and there. I fully intended it to be a one shot, but I kinda want to explore it more, even though I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with it.**

 **Anyway, disclaimer that I don't own, and enjoy!**

 _ **Ghosts**_

 **Chapter One**

The first time they noticed something was wrong was when they were travelling past one of the smaller towns on the way back to the village. They were travelling at a sedate pace, coming from a successfully completed scroll delivery mission. Some children were playing along the outskirts with a dog, which was alternating between chasing them, and being chased by them. The dog made a 'break' for it in their direction, the sudden tactic startling them enough for Obito to not react, and the dog passed right through him.

However, neither Minato nor Rin had noticed, nor did they really believe Obito when he insisted that it happened.

"I'm telling you, sensei!" the boy exclaimed. "The dog _went straight through me_! Like it was a ghost dog! I swear it!"

"There's no such thing as ghosts," Rin said with a long suffering sigh. "And besides, it's _daylight_ , and the dog was playing with the children."

"What other explanation is there?" Obito asked, a dramatic tone to his voice that immediately put listeners into a disbelieving mood. "Maybe everyone in that town is a ghost! It could be a _ghost town_!"

"Obito, Gosen is a real village, and there are no ghosts there," Minato told his student. "Let's pick up the pace, though, so we can get you back home asap."

Obito pouted at being disbelieved, but let it go.

The second time anything was noticed, both Minato and Rin were aware of it. They were maybe twenty minutes away from the village gates at the pace they were travelling, when an ANBU patrol passed them.

"I can't wait to get back and see Kakashi-kun," Rin was saying. "I know he wasn't happy about missing the missions and our training."

"Serves the Bakashi right for messing up on that mission then," Obito said boastfully. "And he calls _me_ clumsy!"

"Obito!" Rin chastised. "You _know_ it wasn't Kakashi-kun's fault! Those nukenin turned up out of nowhere!"

"Whatever," Obito dismissed, then gasped when the ANBU patrol dashed by.

This time, he missed out on them going straight through him, but Minato and Rin didn't. "Sensei?" Rin asked in a small voice as they all stopped, rooted to the spot.

"What's going on?" Obito asked, for while they hadn't gone through him, he'd seen them pass through his sensei and team mate.

Minato uttered a surprised, " _I didn't even sense them_ ," then said louder and surely, "Let's just get back to the village," and set them off at a ninja pace.

At the gates was their next sign. The two on duty didn't look familiar, but then Rin suddenly declared, "They look like Izumo and Kotetsu! Only older!"

"The demented duo?" Obito asked, earning himself a slap upside his head and a stern look from his sensei.

Minato stepped forward. "Hello?" he said, waving his hand in front of them, but the two men acted as if they all weren't there, carrying on their conversation as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

It was the same through the rest of the village. No one could see them, people occasionally even walked right through them, if they weren't careful.

"Maybe _we're_ the ghosts," Obito whispered ominously. "We must have died on that mission, and now we're damned to wander the world as lost souls!"

"Don't be so dramatic," Rin scolded, though she seemed less sure than she had before.

"I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this," Minato added.

Walking through the streets, they discovered another sign that showed something was off, even though by now, all three had accepted that fact. They got lost. Turned around. Whatever. No matter how it went, they still ended up in the wrong place. That left turn back there should have had them on the main thoroughfare, but instead they ended up in the market district. And then they ended up in front of what looked like the arena used for the finals of a chuunin exam. Turning right at that particular intersection had them passing along a street of civilian homes.

After about the eighth time getting lost, Minato got them up on the roof to get to the Hokage tower that way. However, once they were up there, they were gaping like fish out of water.

"No way!" Obito eventually exclaimed. "Why the heck is Bakashi's face on the Hokage mountain!? _I'm_ the one who's supposed to get there!"

"Sensei's face is up there too!" Rin exclaimed, then the two turned to look at the man in question.

Minato was frowning. "How could this happen?" he wondered. "There wasn't anything unusual about that mission, other than…"

He paused, and Rin seemed to realise what he was talking about. "That odd light!" she exclaimed. "Some kind of jutsu, maybe?"

"You mean that flash bomb that guy set off?" Obito asked, face scrunched in confusion. "But that was a _weak_ attack! How could that have killed us?"

"I'm still not so sure that we're dead," Minato mused. "Perhaps it was a genjutsu… But one this elaborate? Or maybe we're unconscious, and one of us is either dreaming or hallucinating. If not, then the only explanation possible would be… No, that's really not possible, is it?"

"What sensei?" Rin asked, as Obito chirped in with, "What what what?"

Minato shook his head. "It's impossible," he said. "Time travel is just a myth."

"Time travel?" Obito was wide eyed. "That's… Way _cooler_ than being dead! Sensei, you're a genius!"

"Let's just get to the Hokage tower," Minato said. "Maybe we can figure out what's going on from there."

The two chuunin followed their sensei along the rooftops to the Hokage tower, which was also different. Once there, Minato insisted they walk through normally, obviously out of a combination of respect and habit. Walking through the halls, they saw a lot of unfamiliar faces, as well as _older_ versions of people they knew.

"That's Genma!" Obito whispered to Rin after poking her shoulder.

"Yes, Obito, I can see that."

When they made it to the Hokage office, they had to step through the door. Minato did it without a worry, Rin stepped quickly through, eyes shut briefly, and Obito grimaced before dramatically stumbling through. Once on the other side, they saw a sight that they'd been expecting, but that one of them had been hoping was just a misunderstanding.

Hatake Kakashi, all grown up, and wearing the Hokage Robes.

 **So how was it? Review please! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A new chapter! I have a better idea on where this is going now, I think. Got a couple of little ideas hashed out for some future chapters. :)**

 **Disclaimer that I don't own, and enjoy!**

 **Chapter Two**

Minato stepped forward carefully further into the room, eyes fixed on the student currently missing from his team, but also right in front of him. Kakashi looked so much _older_ , which he supposed was a given in this circumstance. Even though he was still processing everything, Minato had accepted that they were somehow in the future. The question of how was another matter entirely, one that they needed answered.

"I can't believe it," Obito groaned. "He's really _Hokage_! This is so unfair!"

"…really should be more observant," someone was saying, and it took a moment for them to realise there were other people in the room, they'd been so focussed on Kakashi. "Seriously, Hokage-sama," ( _Obito grimaced at the honorific_ ) "you could have caused a serious incident by not paying attention!"

"Don't worry, Shizune, I've learned my lesson," Kakashi said with a drawl that surprised the incorporeal members of Team Minato. "It won't happen again."

Shizune scoffed. "Yeah, right," she said under her breath, then spoke louder, placing paperwork in front of him. "These are all the files for the chuunin transfer, and these are the ones for the ANBU squad rotations. These ones are for the council meeting in three days. This one is…"

"Wow, being Hokage sure does seem to require a lot of paperwork," Rin said as the paper in front of Kakashi just piled higher and higher. "Is she keeping them in a sealing scroll? I swear it didn't look like she was holding that much a moment ago."

Minato cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Kakashi? Shizune? Can you hear me?"

There was no response, of course, but it was worth a shot.

"So what are we gonna do now, sensei?" Obito asked.

"We need to find a way to reverse this," Minato said. "But with no way to touch anything…" his voice trailed off as his hand ghosted through the Hokage desk. "Alright, let's go over everything that happened on the mission. Things were going smoothly, we got the scroll to the team waiting at the outpost, and then we were headed back to the village. That's when we ran into those bandits."

"It was an easy fight!" Obito said, scoffing at how weak they'd been. "But that's to be expected from bandits with no shinobi training."

"They had a flash bomb," Rin piped up. "That was the most dangerous thing they had, and it went off accidentally _after_ we'd taken them out, likely because it was defective. Nothing unusual happened otherwise until…"

"Until that dog went right through me!" Obito chimed in, then scowled. "You two didn't even _believe_ me."

"Sorry about that, Obito," Minato apologised, then went on, "So whatever happened, it was either caused by the flash bomb, or there was something between there and Gosen that we didn't notice."

"When the ANBU went by, I heard you mention that you didn't sense them, sensei," Rin spoke up. "And when we got to Konoha… I'm not a sensor, but there's always _something_ when you're in close proximity to someone, and in a village filled with shinobi? That something is _gone_ now, sensei."

"She's right," Obito perked up. "I haven't been able to sense the general chakra of anyone else, either. Well, other than you two."

Now that his students had brought it up, Minato realised that they were right. Neither Obito nor Rin were full sensors, but no ninja had to be to sense someone who was, say, standing right next to them. He himself could sense the entire village while he was in it, and could use that in mid range combat to keep an eye on his enemies in the field. That was especially useful for his hiraishin. Closing his eyes, he extended his senses, trying to pick up something, _anything_. Finally, he felt it, a small trickle of chakra coming from… Opening his eyes, he glanced over to where Kakashi was still being harassed by Shizune.

"I had to really concentrate," he said, "but I felt it, Kakashi and Shizune's chakra."

His two students looked relieved, and Minato quite honestly was, as well. It lent credence to the fact that they _weren't_ dead, though it led more to the theory that they _were_ in the future, and not in a genjutsu. No matter his personal ideas on what had happened, he was determined to keep an open mind until they got hard facts, or somehow returned to where they were supposed to be.

There was a knock at the door that had Shizune halting her tirade as Kakashi called for whomever it was to come in. The door opened and a Nara stepped into the room, a lazy slouch to his shoulders that most of his clan had. Though Minato knew that it was mostly an act to put people off their guard, there were still some in the clan who played it up a little _too_ well.

"Hokage-sama, Shizune-san," the newcomer said. "It's troublesome, but there was a gennin down at the main door with a message to give to whomever they saw first of us three. Apparently Sakura needs you at the hospital, Shizune."

Shizune stood on alert. "Do you know why?" she asked, and the Nara shrugged.

"Kid didn't say," was all he told them.

Shizune then excused herself and left, though not before reminding Kakashi about his paperwork and appointments. Once she was gone, the Nara spoke again, "The reason I came here in the first place is with my own message. The Barrier Corps recorded a spike in chakra at the main gate awhile ago. They don't think there's an intruder, otherwise they'd have reported it immediately. But they've been analysing it, and decided that it was important enough to bring to your attention."

 _That_ caught Minato's attention. Had _they_ been that spike?

"What have they found?" Kakashi asked.

The Nara handed over a scroll, and Kakashi read it carefully. Minato stepped over to read over Kakashi's shoulder, and saw that the Barrier Corps had detected three little spikes of chakra fluctuation, that they described as a sort of 'after image'. Apparently, even though there wasn't enough chakra for an entire person, that after image had eventually cleared enough to be a blurry version of a person. Well, three persons, to be exact. With that bit of information combined with the discovery that he could still sense some chakra, and that the Corps detected _them…_ Well, the mystery was deepening.

"What's happening, sensei?" Rin asked.

"The Barrier Corps sensed our chakra, even though they haven't recognised it as us," he said. "I think we should head over there, see what theories they might have. We'll head out the window this time, save some time getting there."

As they headed out, they missed the fact that when Minato's hand briefly passed through Kakashi's shoulder, the Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha felt a small chill go down his spine.

 **So what did you think? Review please! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**New chapter! Yay!**

 **So, I started a Cert 3 in Hospitality this week. I was supposed to do it last month, but I was sick. So I might be too tired to write for awhile. We've got four weeks study, then four weeks off for the holidays, then two more weeks study, and two weeks work experience. I get a few days off though, (like today) because I've already done some modules, and apparently you can't be credited for the same module twice.**

 **Anyway, enjoy and remember that I don't own the Naruto-verse!**

 **Chapter Three**

The Barrier Corps was in the centre of the village. That was an indisputable fact, no matter how different everything was. It was simple mathematics and geometry. Once you knew that important fact, finding it would be no problem. And of course a benefit of being intangible was that all that was required was for them to walk through the door. Literally.

The main room was occupied with Barrier shinobi, _naturally_ , half maintaining the barrier, the other half involved in paperwork and discussions. "So… Are we just going to listen in on conversations and read over people's shoulders?" Rin asked.

"That's probably the best idea," Minato agreed. "Alright, spread out. Keep your ear out for specific things that have to do with chakra, and anything that sounds even remotely like it could be related to our situation."

Team Minato made the rounds then, listening intently to conversations, until they picked up on snippets here and there.

"… _last chakra reading was negative. What was in the second…_ "

"… _kage like that? How could anyone get through unnoticed?_ "

"… _readings were off the chart! Yet there was nothing there!_ Nothing _!_ "

"… _the intrusion earlier hasn't repeated, so it's likely whatever caused it is still here…_ "

Minato especially paused at that last one. Stopping in front of two shinobi, he listened in to their conversation.

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" one asked.

"Not in twenty years in the Barrier Corps," the other said. "You'll learn soon enough that all chakra, no matter what type, has a distinct… I suppose you could call it presence… to it. It's solid, _real_ , to a sensor like myself. But this was disjointed, almost like it wasn't really there, and yet… _was_. And it was like it just calmly walked in through the gates!"

"Izumo and Kotetsu have already been questioned," the first one said. "They reported that at the time in question, nothing out of the ordinary happened."

"With something as subtle as this, I wonder it they even would have noticed?" the older one wondered. "Kosuke-san has a theory that whatever it was, was hidden enough to escape our sensors. Passing through the barrier might have simply caused the control of the one manipulating the chakra to slip."

"Hisano-san suggested asking the Hokage to get Naruto-san to help," was the younger one's idea. "After all, he _does_ have the advantage of sensing different kinds of emotions, as well as chakra, thanks to Kyu- er, I mean, Kurama-sama. Hisano was there for _it_ , you know."

"Ha!" the older one scoffed. "Getting that kid to sit still for long enough on something he'd probably consider boring… Well, _you_ can handle that, Shinji."

Shinji sighed. "Should I get a request scroll written up for Hokage-sama or not?" he asked.

"Do it," he was told. "Might be our best lead for the moment."

Well, that conversation was over. Minato sighed, and hoped whoever this Naruto was would be able to sense them, then maybe they'd be closer to figuring out how to get out of this mess they were in. Though, who was this Kurama-sama? No matter, he was sure they'd find out in due time.

"Rin, Obito!" he called, and his students immediately came over. "Anything?"

"Nothing from what I heard," Rin said apologetically.

"Uh, someone briefly mentioned that the chakra they sensed, _our_ chakra, was unnaturally unbalanced with Yin chakra," Obito said. "I mean, that would make sense, since we don't seem to be physically here, right sensei?"

Obito looked so uncertain of his question, that Minato sighed. "You're right, Obito," he told the boy, who looked relieved. "Don't doubt yourself, alright?"

Obito nodded, and muttered something about Kakashi, and 'who's an idiot now' under his breath that Minato decided he should probably ignore for now.

"Well, it seems that Konoha's sensors can't detect us," he said. "Other than the incident with us walking through the barrier, they haven't been able to track us."

"That's disappointing," Rin spoke morosely, and Obito nodded in agreement.

"They did mention that there's someone who might be able to sense us," Minato said, causing them to perk up in interest. "Someone named Naruto, and someone named Kurama. I have no idea who those two could be, though."

"What should we do now, sensei?" Rin asked.

Minato thought a moment, then said, "I think we should look around the village. It wouldn't hurt for us to figure out the layout a bit better, considering how different everything is. It wouldn't do to get lost again."

"So basically, we're going exploring?" Obito asked, a grin forming on his face.

Minato smiled indulgently. "I guess that's one way you could take it," he agreed. "Go on, you two. I'm going to stay here a bit longer, in case anything turns up. We'll meet back at the Hokage tower in two hours, got that?"

Rin and Obito nodded, before Minato shooed them out and got back to 'eavesdropping' on these future shinobi of the Leaf.

OoOoO

Obito and Rin split up once they left the Barrier Corps building, much to Obito's disgruntlement. Once they'd hopped up to the rooftop to get their bearings, she'd taken off to where she could see the hospital, clearly excited at the prospect of possibly seeing an older version of herself, perhaps running the place. (Rin had blushed cutely when Obito had suggested it, and he'd blushed right back)

Obito, on the other hand, was looking for his clan. And yet, no matter where he looked, he couldn't find a single sign of another Uchiha, _anywhere_. He should at least see some of the Police Force out on patrol, but there was nothing, no one. Frowning, he searched all over for the Uchiha compound, finding it in a different place, further out from the main village.

It was _abandoned_. What the heck? Worry and fear rose in him as he stumbled through the ghostly streets of the ramshackle place, finally coming across someone, only for it to be a work crew, tearing down one of the buildings.

"Hey!" Obito yelled, briefly forgetting that he couldn't be seen or heard. "What do you think you're doing?!"

They ignored him, of course, continuing to work unaffected. One of them picked up a sledgehammer and began pounding away at a wall.

"Stop it!" Obito yelled.

Feeling desperate, he lunged, fist flying at the guy, not really thinking of any consequences or otherwise. The man ducked, though not because he knew Obito was there, but because he went to pick up a tool. Obito, however, kept going in his fit of rage, fist headed straight for the wall.

…

It connected with a loud crash.

 **A new twist! What happened? How did Obito physically affect something? Well, I know, so when I write the chapters, you'll know too. ;)**

 **Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Another new chapter today! I'm on a roll! :P**

 **So this chapter has in it why I called it Ghosts. Well, last chapter did a bit too. Can you guess why? I'll tell you at the end.**

 **Disclaimer that I don't own, and enjoy! :)**

 **Chapter Four**

Obito stared, dumbfounded, at his fist. What the heck? Looking over at the workmen, they were currently discussing the randomly collapsing wall, having had the living daylights scared out of them when it had collapsed. Ignoring them, he shoved at a piece of rubble, noting as his hand went right through. How the heck had he done it? Was it because he was angry? Concentrating on that anger, he attempted to work himself up again, then reached out and pushed.

"Aah!" one of the workmen yelled as the beam collapsed. "This stuff is freaking unstable! How come we were never told that?"

"I still think it was just wearing down with all the hammering we've been doing," another spoke up. "Besides, these houses have been sitting here unoccupied since… well, you know. _Then_. No one's been around to maintain them, after all."

Another shrugged. "Good point, boss," they agreed.

Since _what?_ What was _then_? Obito was stuck on wanting to know what had happened. "Hey! Where's my clan?" he yelled at them, grimacing as he remembered that _of course_ , they couldn't hear him.

Looking down at his fist, he knew that what happened was something that was important enough to tell sensei, and he _really_ wanted to go tell him, but he also wanted to stay. He let out a sniff, yanked up his goggles to wipe his eyes, then looked around. The Naka shrine… He needed to go to the Naka shrine first. That would at least confirm if this was real or not. Because there's no way that his family would let anything happen to the shrine if they were around.

Obito turned and left, missing one of them mutter, "Uchiha-sama's not gonna be too happy about all this delay…"

The Naka shrine had moved, just as the compound had. It was a wreck, just as everything else was as well. Obito scuffed at the ground, kicking up dirt in his frustration. He sighed. The state the shrine was in confirmed his worst fears. His clan really _was_ gone. More tears pricked at his eyes, until a steady stream fell. He knelt down and breathed deeply, struggling to get his emotions under control.

He could almost _hear_ Bakashi lecturing him on the shinobi rules, how a _good_ shinobi never cried, _never_ showed their emotions. But this was _his clan_ , he _had_ to mourn them. Even if in his own time, it hadn't happened yet. Obito's thoughts turned morbid as his tears fell, and he wondered if he'd died that night too. It was likely, since he did live in the Uchiha compound. Even if it did _move_.

Finally, Obito stood on shaky legs, knowing he had to go see sensei now. He headed back the way he'd come, a path which took him back to where the workers were. To his utter shock, he saw a familiar blond head of hair there.

"Sensei!" he called. "What are you doing here?"

OoOoO

Minato was, for want of a better phrase, _snooping_ around the Barrier Corps headquarters when it happened. The water sphere pulsed, alarms went off, and people went running. Minato followed, picking up on what was happening as they went.

"It's one of those chakras?" someone asked.

"Yes, over near the old Uchiha compound," another spoke.

' _Old_ Uchiha compound?' Minato wondered to himself, and that question was soon answered. They reached a derelict compound, with the fan symbol of the Uchiha over the old gates, and he felt a sinking feeling in his gut. When they reached the spot the sensors had detected the signature from, he looked around for Obito, but couldn't see him anywhere.

"What happened here?" one of the shinobi that had rushed here demanded.

"What do you mean?" a worker asked.

"We detected a chakra signature we've been trying to locate here," the shinobi told them. "It would have been a few minutes ago. Did you notice anything unusual?"

The workers exchanged glances. "Nothing too much," the one who seemed to be in charge spoke up. "We're working on pulling down the unstable houses, for Uchiha-sama. You know, since he wants to rebuild the place. Uh, one of the walls _did_ seem to collapse on its own, but I'm pretty sure it was just because we'd already worn it down."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" The man paused briefly before continuing, "Gorou here was working on bringing down a wall. _That_ wall over there. It fell between strikes, but I don't think there's anything out of the ordinary about that."

"Unless it was ghosts," Gorou muttered, but he was ignored.

One of the sensors went over to the fallen wall and closed his eyes, hand out as he extended his senses. Then his eyes shot open, he turned to face them, and he said, "Sir, there's a residual chakra signature on it. It's _incredibly_ faint, I only barely felt it, but it's there."

"Sensei! What are you doing here?"

Minato turned and saw Obito, goggles up and eyes red rimmed. He rushed over to him to check him over. "What happened here, Obito?"

Obito pointed over to the fallen wall. "I did that," he admitted, then said, "Sensei, I think… I think my clan is gone."

Minato pulled the boy close in a hug, then said, "One of them mentioned an Uchiha-sama. So maybe they just moved?"

Obito's head shook. "The Naka shrine is a wreck," he said. "There's no way my clan would let it get into such a state. Anyone left would be disrespecting our ways to leave it like that."

Obito pulled away, and Minato let him, concern washing over him as his student wiped at his eyes. "Where's Rin?" Minato asked, suddenly realising his other student wasn't here with them.

"She went to the hospital," Obito told him. "We split up before I came here."

Minato relaxed a bit. "When you say you did that," he indicated the wall, changing the subject, "what do you mean exactly?"

"I was angry," Obito told him. "Angry that they were demolishing on Uchiha property. I yelled at them to stop, and lashed out. Wasn't really thinking. Um… I think my emotions had something to do with it, sensei."

"Just anger?" Minato asked.

Obito shrugged. "Frustration too."

Minato walked over to one of the sturdier houses, closed his eyes, and channelled the frustration at their situation he'd been keeping at the back of his mind since this had all started. Focusing it all into a finger, he opened his eyes and reached up, poking at the house. His finger connected and he could _feel_ the wood of the building upon his skin. Then he lost that focus and his hand slipped through.

Interesting…

Turning back to Obito, he said, "Come on, let's go find Rin. With this new information, maybe we can find a way to communicate with someone, hopefully get some help with our situation."

The two of them headed off to find the hospital, leaving behind some frustrated workers and Barrier Corps shinobi.

 **Did you figure it out? Yes? No? Well, it's the movie, Ghost. Y'know, the one with Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. The point is, strong emotions cause them to be able to interact with the world around them.**

 **Review please. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**New chapter! Yay me! ;)**

 **Notice! I'll be changing my pen name in the new year some time.**

 **Disclaimer that I don't own, and enjoy!**

 **Chapter Five**

Rin was in the middle of watching a complicated surgery, eyes wide in fascination, when Obito and Minato found her. She listened gravely to what they had to tell her, and agreed that it was important for them to return to the Hokage Tower, where someone was sure to go to report to Kakashi about what had happened.

"It'd be a good opportunity to try to make contact with Kakashi as well," Minato said, and they agreed.

"So," Obito asked as they headed off, "did you find your older self?"

Rin shook her head. "The one running the hospital is that Sakura person who called Shizune away earlier," she said. "I couldn't find a trace anywhere, not even a locker in the medic rooms."

She grabbed his hand in hers. "How are _you_ doing?" she asked.

Obito grinned sheepishly, forced, she could tell. "I'll be fine," he told her in the tone of promise he often used with her. "It's just… gonna take awhile to get my head around it, y'know?"

Once they reached the Hokage tower, they found Kakashi there, still with the Nara, being briefed by a member of the Barrier Corps.

"…with no sign of it," the shinobi was saying. "But Yota-san could sense a small part of it, according to Shinya-san. Sir, did you receive the request from Shinji-san about Naruto-sama?"

"I did," Kakashi said. "Naruto's on a mission, but he'll be back in the village either later tonight, or early tomorrow, depending on the circumstances. As soon as he gets back, I'll have him report straight to me. In the meantime, have _any_ of your sensors been able to find anything, besides the incident at the old Uchiha place?"

Minato noticed Obito wince at the 'old' part of that question, and saw Rin grab his hand again and squeeze tight.

"There's been nothing else," the Barrier Corps shinobi told his Hokage. "Hokage-sama, this is really frustrating for us, to know that _something's_ there, but being unable to find it."

"As a fellow shinobi, I understand that feeling very well," Kakashi spoke, then sighed. "Alright, if there's nothing else? You're dismissed."

The Barrier Corps shinobi left then, after a swift bow. It was a little tempting to follow him, but they could always go back to check out that lead later if things here didn't work out. Besides, he still wanted to see if he could get through to Kakashi, try to communicate with him somehow.

"Well, this is troublesome," the Nara spoke. "These chakra signatures, they're almost like ghosts with how they can't be tracked by our Barrier Corps."

Minato raised a brow at his choice of words. They weren't _ghosts_ , he was sure of that! Well, mostly sure. Kakashi just rolled his eyes.

"Ghosts aren't real, no matter what Naruto insists," he said. "Speaking of, have you thought about what I asked you, Shikamaru?"

Minato raised a brow at the Nara's name, realising that he must be the clan heir, since the Nara Head family named their kids with 'shika' in honour of the deer. Was he Shikaku's son then?

Shikamaru sighed. "I'll probably do it," he said. "It would be good experience for when he's Hokage, after all. Though I'll still have my clan duties, of course, I should be able to make it work."

Kakashi 'hm-ed' at that. "Shikaku made it work too, with clan Head duties, his role as Jounin Commander, _and_ being an advisor to both sensei and the Sandaime," he said, his wording making Minato fear that his long-time friend was dead at this point. "I have no doubt you'll be able to do the same. You have surpassed your father, after all, in more ways than one."

Shikamaru closed his eyes briefly, before saying, "That guy, he was always shirking his duties as clan Head when he could."

The two were silent a moment, then Shikamaru said, "Well, I've got to get back. I still have a lot of work to do, so… Consider this my unofficial acceptance, and once I've worked the schedule out, we can make it official. Is that alright, Hokage-sama?"

Kakashi nodded and waved Shikamaru away, and once the Nara was gone, Minato took a deep breath. "Alright," he said. "Let's do this."

OoOoO

Rokudaime Hokage Hatake Kakashi was having a strange day. Well, no stranger than the Barrier Corps shinobi were having, at any rate. These weird chakras were confusing the heck out of everyone, he was no exception. There wasn't anything in the archives, that he knew of, that could give off so little chakra, remain invisible, _and_ hide from their sensory ninja. That incident at the Uchiha compound was frustrating in the way that it seemed like they'd finally pin-pointed the source, only for the workers on sight to have seen and heard _nothing_.

Sighing and leaning back in his chair, he thought on the other weird thing that had happened. Earlier, he felt a shiver go down his spine. That wasn't something that would be odd in itself, it was just the fact that he'd felt like someone, or something, had caused it. Was it related to the strange chakras? He could see no correlation between the two.

At least, not at this point.

Closing his eyes, he allowed his thoughts to settle, collecting himself as he took a break. Thank goodness Shizune wasn't still here, he hadn't finished the paperwork she'd handed him earlier just yet. Raising his hand to his head, he massaged his temples, trying to ward off the migraine he could feel developing.

A rustle of paper caught his attention and he paused in his actions. Opening his eyes, he looked around to see that he was alone still. Glancing at the clock, Kakashi saw that it was after four in the afternoon. It was likely that Shizune wouldn't be back today, the report from the hospital was that a team had returned severely injured, and she and Sakura would be in surgery until well into the evening.

Another rustle of paper, and Kakashi's eyes went wide at the sight of a pen rising. _His name_ was spelled out before him, the handwriting _oh so familiar_ , though he hadn't seen the person whose handwriting matched that in… Must be six years at least now.

"S-sensei?" he whispered, a feeling of dread and horror rising up in him.

The next words he saw had him rather embarrassingly fleeing his office like a scared little child, but he was too panic-stricken to worry about that right now.

 _I need your help._

 **So what did you think? I ended up having quite a revelation of an idea for this, and it's gonna fit nicely into it. You'll see when it comes up. :P**

 **Review please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hiya! New chapter! I know it's been ages, but I lost my Naruto muse a good while ago. But she seems to be getting off her ass and actually _doing something_ now, so there you go.**

 **Anyway, I don't own anyone or anything in Naruto, but please enjoy this chapter! :)**

 **Chapter Six**

Minato left Obito laughing and rolling on the floor, with Rin chastising him, and chased after Kakashi. It was difficult to track him because of whatever it was that was blocking his ability to sense chakra, but in the end, he managed to follow him to the memorial stone. Somehow, it didn't surprise him that his student would come here.

He followed Kakashi's gaze, quickly finding three names that caught his attention. Minato had already figured out that _he_ was dead, there were two other faces on the Hokage mountain after his own, after all. And he'd had a rather strong suspicion that Obito was gone in this time as well, due to what happened with the Uchiha compound earlier. But _Rin's_ name was there as well, and not far from their names… His heart wrenched at the sight of Kushina's name.

"What the _hell_ is going on today?" Kakashi muttered, and Minato could detect the frustration, and a hint of embarrassment, in his voice. "The barrier, that shiver I had, the compound, and now _this_? Are you haunting me again, sensei?"

 _Again?_

Kakashi sighed and raised his eyes heavenward. "And here I thought I'd laid my ghosts to rest after the last war," he muttered.

"I'm not a ghost," Minato said, a hint of petulance lacing his words. "I'm really here, Kakashi. Sorry I startled you before, but damn! It's frustrating not being able to communicate properly! I'm sure you'd understand, if you were in my position."

Channelling his emotions, Minato reached out to place his hand on Kakashi's shoulder, likely about to startle him again, but really, what choice did he have? He was intangible and inaudible, he _needed_ Kakashi to understand that he was _here_! Before his hand could connect, an ANBU arrived, silent as they always were.

"Hokage-sama," he spoke. "Are you alright? What's happened?"

Kakashi sighed. "Nothing's wrong," he said. "But I need you to find Shikamaru, get him back to the my office. And the head of the Barrier Corps as well… And send someone out to get Naruto here, asap."

"We've already received word," the ANBU spoke. "Naruto-san and his team are almost here."

"Good," Kakashi said. "Have the gate guards send him _straight_ to my office, alright?"

The ANBU nodded, then vanished. Kakashi gave the memorial one last look, then headed back to the Hokage office, with Minato hot on his heels.

OoOoO

Back at the Hokage tower, Rin and Obito were still there, with Obito finally standing and no longer laughing uncontrollably, though still letting out the occasional snigger when he remembered Kakashi bolting like that. Rin had her arms crossed, glaring at him every time one of his snickers was let loose, which would cause him to look serious again, at least until he gave in to his amusement once more.

When Kakashi returned, he started laughing again, but Minato, who'd followed him in closely, whacked him upside his head and told him to shush. ANBU entered the room, one handing him reports, the others keeping watch. Twenty minutes later, and another ANBU shunshined into the room.

"Naruto-san and his team are here," the boar masked nin said. "Two of them are headed straight to the hospital. Naruto-san and Sai-san are on their way now."

Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement, and that ANBU left. As soon as he had, Shizune came in after knocking.

"Shizune," Kakashi said. "I assume, since you're here, the emergency at the hospital is over?"

Nodding, Shizune said, "Yes, Hokage-sama. There was a team brought in that needed emergency surgery, but Sakura and I are done. She's headed home now."

"Good," Kakashi said. "Now, unless there's something that absolutely _cannot_ wait…"

"Well, did you finish signing all the forms I gave you?" Shizune asked, and Kakashi sighed, indicating a pile of paperwork on his left.

Shizune grabbed it, checked through it, clicked her tongue a few times, then sighed. "I guess this'll do. I'm going to drop this off and then head home myself. Good night, Hokage-sama," she said, and Kakashi waved her off.

A few minutes later, the door burst open, and a loud voice called, "Kakashi-sensei! We're back!"

Minato did a double take at the sight of the sunshine-blond young man who came in. Barring a few features, he looked so incredibly like him! He was aware of Rin and Obito taking note of him too, with Rin letting out a gasp and whispering, "He looks just like you, sensei!"

Was this _Naruto_? He looked so much like him, it _couldn't_ be a coincidence… Was this… his and Kushina's son? Either way, the young man was going off in a tangent, telling his 'sensei' all about the mission he'd been on. Minato stared and stared, drinking in the sight of him, noting all the similarities to himself, and also to Kushina. His son… This was _surreal_. …Just like everything _else_ that had been happening today.

"…and then there were only three left, and Kurama and I had to go full on, just to get them to give up!" Naruto was saying. "Of course then Sai- _teme_ here made a remark about the parentage of one of them, and the guy went _nuts!_ "

"I'd read that taunting your enemy is a good tactic for distraction," spoke someone that Minato hadn't actually noticed until he said anything.

"That's _before_ you catch 'em, you numbskull!" Naruto complained loudly.

His personality really was just like his mothers…

"Naruto…" Kakashi said, his voice tinged with only a hint of annoyance. "This could have waited until your official report."

"Huh? Then why did you want me to come straight here?" Naruto asked.

"There's something we need your help with," Kakashi said. "Earlier today, the Barrier Corps detected an unknown chakra enter the village, but they couldn't identify or track it. It was too small. One of them suggested that maybe _you_ could sense it, since you're currently the best sensor we have in the village."

Naruto beamed at the praise, then nodded solemnly. "Alright, Kakashi-sensei," he said, then closed his eyes and concentrated.

Everyone in the room watched him with baited breath, Minato gasping lightly at one point when he _sensed_ Naruto utilising _nature chakra_. Pride filled him. Then a few minutes later, Naruto opened his eyes, his chakra returning to normal.

"Well?" was the general consensus, with only Kakashi voicing it.

"There's… something," Naruto said, then shook his head. "Three signatures… I couldn't sense them at first, but I used a bit of nature energy, and then I did. It kinda feels like… Oh!"

His eyes had widened and a grin formed on his face. "Kakashi-sensei!" he exclaimed. "I think I recognise one of them! But… It's kinda impossible."

That last sentence was spoken with his grin fading. "Why is it impossible?" Kakashi asked, and Minato noticed that he looked a little wary of what the answer might be.

"It's just…" Naruto sighed, then took on a determined stance. "One of the chakra signatures… I haven't sensed it since the war. It's… It's…"

Everyone was on the edge of their seats, so to speak.

"It's my _dad_."

 **So what did you think? Review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

Hi!

After thinking about this for awhile, and on the advice of a fellow fanfiction writer (aka my sister) this update is to inform you that this story has now moved over to my new profile, thatsnotmyname32.

I thank you all for your support here, and hope that you will continue to do so at the new profile.

Thank you. :)


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